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MarketPulse

08:46AM

Europe stocks rally after U.S. jobs databy Sara Sjolin

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets rallied in afternoon action on Friday, after the U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 7.8% and 114,000 jobs were added to nonfarm payrolls in September. The Stoxx Europe 600 index
(xx:sxxp)
rose 1% to 274.09, from trading around 273.50 before the data. France's CAC 40 index
(fr:px1)
was up 1.3% to 3,445.08, while Germany's DAX 30 index
(dx:dax)
added 1% to 7,377.74. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index
(uk:ukx)
gained 0.7% to 5,867.87.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures Friday swiftly added to losses before moderating a bit after the U.S. Labor Department said the economy added 114,000 jobs last month, better than forecast, while the jobless rate fell to 7.8%. Gold for December delivery
(gcz2)
had fallen as low as $1,780.10 after the report before recovering to $1,788.20, down $8.30. It had traded over $1,791 before the report. Gold has been gaining this week after comments and reports from central banks signaled policy makers are leaning towards adding even more money to the global financial system, heightening the perceived value of hard assets. Oil for November delivery
(clx2)
was down 36 cents at $91.35 a barrel vs. $90.59 before the report.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock-index futures added to Friday gains after the government reported the economy added 114,000 jobs in September, and the unemployment rate fell to 7.8%, its lowest since January 2009. With last month's gain, and "an upward revision for August, this economy remains on a slow but not slowing growth path," Kathy Bostjancic, director of macroeconomic analysis for the Conference Board, said in an emailed statement. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average
(djz2)
climbed 36 points to 13,534. Futures for the S&P 500 index
(spz2)
rose 4.2 points to 1,460. Futures for the Nasdaq 100
(ndz2)
added 12 points to 2,833.5.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Treasury prices dropped and the dollar stayed under slight pressure on Friday after a report showed the U.S. economy added 114,000 jobs last month. The unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 7.8% as people found jobs and prior months' figures were revised up. Analysts said any market reaction may be short-lived because one data point is unlikely to sway Federal Reserve officials from their ongoing bond-purchase program. The dollar index
(dxy)
, which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of six major currencies, traded at 79.335, from 79.411 before the report and 79.376 in North American trade late Thursday. The euro
(eurusd)
bought $1.3018, from $1.3001 prior to the data and little changed versus $1.3015 Thursday. Yields on 10-year notes
(10_year)
, which move inversely to prices, rose 5 basis points to 1.73%, and were little changed before the report.

08:33AM

Sept. U.S. jobs up 114,000; jobless rate 7.8% by Jeffry Bartash

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The U.S. economy generated a lackluster 114,000 jobs in September, but the unemployment rate fell to 7.8% from 8.1%, the lowest level since January 2009, the government said Friday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected a 110,000 increase in jobs, based on the Labor Department's survey of businesses. The unemployment rate, which is drawn from a separate survey of households, was forecast to tick up to 8.2% from 8.1%. Yet the jobless rate fell sharply after the biggest increase in employment as measured by the household survey since 1983. Some 873,000 people in the household survey said they found jobs. Employment gains for August and July, meanwhile, were revised higher by a combined 86,000. The number of new jobs created in August was revised up to 142,000 from an original estimate of 96,000. July's figure was revised up to 181,000 from 141,000. In September, average hourly wages rose 7 cents, or 0.4%, to $23.58. The average workweek edged up 0.1 hour to 34.5. (Fixes typo in headline.)

08:01AM

National Bank of Greece in merger talks: reportsby Sara Sjolin

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Trading in shares of National Bank of Greece SA
(gr:ete)
and Eurobank Ergasias SA
(gr:eurob)
were suspended on Friday, after media reports said the two banks were in talks of a merger that could create the biggest lender in the country. National Bank of Greece was up 4.5% when trading got suspended, while Eurobank was halted at 5.5%. The merger talks come amid pressure on Greek banks to consolidate, as they battle bad loans and debt restructuring. Eurobank earlier this year failed in taking over Alpha Bank A.E.
(gr:alpha)
and this week Credit Agricole SA
(fr:aca)
announced that it has started talks to sell its Greek unit Emporiki for 1 euro ($1.29) to Alpha Bank by the end of the year. The Athens General Index
(gr:gd)
traded 4.6% higher at 826.68. A representative from National Bank of Greece declined to comment, while Eurobank was not immediately available to comment.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- J.P. Morgan on Friday cuts its fiscal 2013 revenue target for Facebook's Payments unit to $582 million from its previous estimate of $797 million. Analysts cited a lower outlook announced late Thursday by Zynga Inc.
(znga)
, which offers games on Facebook. "We expect Facebook shares to be pressured in the near term as Zynga's outlook weighs on high-margin Payments revenue and Facebook's overall earnings profile," analyst Doug Anmuth said in a note to clients. Shares of Facebook fell 2.4% in premarket trades, while Zynga lost about 21%.

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